Blessed are Those Who Have Not Seen and Yet Believe
Thomas … thanks! For bringing honesty into our faith. He didn’t pretend that he was better than he was. He began by wanting proof and ended by being glad of faith. He is the patron saint of transitions and steps in faith. Faith is a journey. He is the saint of faith in our times. The community was the place he found faith, having lost it when he tried to go it alone. Then he came back to the community of faith and went on a journey of life that took him to martyrdom in India.
He also found Christ in wanting to touch his wounds. We find God when we enter into his wounds in the wounds of our world. In the faith community of the Church, we can keep our faith. Our faith grows here, too. Thomas looked for faith by wanting to touch the wounds of Jesus. When Jesus invited him to do so, he found he didn’t need to. He found faith in being present with the wounded Christ and discovered there his faith in the glory of Christ.
We can do the same. What was said to Thomas is said to us all: ‘You believe because you can see me. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.‘
Donal Neary SJ, Gospel Reflections for Sundays of Year A
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The Reality of the Resurrection
It is not easy to believe in the resurrection. It is no coincidence that, in almost all apparitions, there is unbelief and doubt, also among the people who knew Jesus very well. At the same time, these hesitant witnesses are going to proclaim his resurrection.
Perhaps this is the strongest proof of the reality of the resurrection. The disciples of Jesus were traumatised by the shameful failure that Jesus’ (and their own) life’s work had turned out to be. They had fled in all directions. Shortly after that, the same people are going to proclaim with unimaginable passion that their hero is the Saviour of the people. They no longer conceal his death on the cross. They will now proclaim it almost with pride. Between both moments, they must have experienced something even more shocking and dramatic than the catastrophe of Jesus’ crucifixion: his resurrection.
Nicolaas Sintobin SJ, Did Jesus Really Exist? and 51 Other Questions
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Facing Into The Darkness
We all have experience of darkness in life at times. It is in facing into the dark and empty place that we can see the reality that our problems, though sometimes seemingly great in size or magnitude, are never the entirety of the story. For me, slowing down and regaining the discipline of prayer and reflection, rather than bringing me to a place of terror and ruin, actually leads me to a place of healing. It’s a place of encounter with reality, of encounter with God.
On Holy Saturday each year, silence falls, and the dark and empty tomb screams out to those who would fear the end, ‘Come, see!’ And I see now why they had to go to the tomb. Jesus was teaching them, even in a time of great misery, that we all have to go to the tomb – the dark and empty places – scary and all as that may be. Why does he call us there? Because when we go, when we face into the darkness, we will see that it is not dark at all. A wonderful light is coming. Problems, even death, are not the end. There is always the promise of three days later.
Brendan McManus SJ and Jim Deeds, Emerging from the Mess
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A Huge Leap of Faith
We are so familiar with the story of the Annunciation that it can be easy to take Mary’s faith for granted. It’s easy to forget that Gabriel’s message opened up a vast new horizon for Mary. He didn’t give Mary any human guarantees; he didn’t offer her a familiar or secure way forward. He took her completely out of her comfort zone. Everything about this singular episode demanded a huge leap of faith: it was already hard enough to accept that an angel was speaking to her; it was even more difficult to believe that a virgin could conceive, but who could imagine that any woman could possibly become God’s own mother! Gabriel was painting a picture that bordered on the preposterous. Mary didn’t stop to think about the sheer unlikelihood of what was being announced. If she had, she would most likely have refused to believe. Mary’s focus was on God. She believed enough in God’s power and love to accept the message that Gabriel communicated to her. She plunged wholeheartedly into the limitless ocean of God as she said: ‘Behold the servant of the Lord, let it be done unto me according to your word’ (Luke 1:38).
Thomas Casey SJ, Smile of Joy: Mary of Nazareth
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We Thirst For Inclusion
A famous picture shows the Samaritan woman looking into the well and seeing her own image and the image of Jesus. In the depths of the well of her life is the presence of Jesus.
In the depths of the well, when we are in love, pain, death, decision, joy, we find God. God is near when we are near to ourselves, even in shame and sin. We thirst for meaning in life, for knowing we are totally loved, for community and companionship – and God offers all this.
This is the offering of God – the living water is the Holy Spirit. We thirst for inclusion – the disciples in this story did not want Jesus talking to a woman. So much of the religion of the time separated people. In the depths of the well, we are all equal.
We find the mercy of God in the well. As we go into the depths of prayer and ourselves, we are open to mercy. We may put conditions on God’s mercy – naming our sins, or numbering them. At the bottom of the well is the water of mercy.
Donal Neary SJ, Gospel Reflections for Sundays of Year A
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Love As He Loves
Most people are searching for happiness, but if happiness becomes the sole goal of our search, it is often missed. Jesus suggests that happiness comes to those who seek something else. Happiness comes to those who seek to serve others, or, as Jesus declares, it is in giving that we receive. The action of Jesus in washing the feet of his disciples suggests that our service of others is not to be dependent on how they relate to us. At the Last Supper, Jesus washed the feet of all his disciples, including Judas. Jesus washed the feet of the one who rebelled against him. As Jesus declares in Luke’s Gospel, ‘If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?’ Jesus gives expression to a much more self-emptying kind of love. He calls us to live in the same way and gives us the Holy Spirit to help us to love as he loves. Martin Hogan, The Word of God is Living and Active
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Love Your Enemy
Love your enemy’ is easy for some people. There are those who cannot live without an enemy. They learn to feed off negativity. They can make others appear to be horrendous human beings who lack basic goodness. This creation is often a figment of their imagination, but it is necessary to sustain their own warped sense of self-worth and their drive. They love the presence of an enemy because, without one, they’d have to consider their own heart and soul, and this is too difficult for them. An enemy provides justification for a worldview that distracts from personal well-being.
Jesus suffered under such people. He was made to be an enemy of the people to suit those in power. May we be protected from such people and the damage they do. The heart is too tender a space to be wasted on such negativity.
‘Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.’ (Luke 23:34)
Alan Hilliard, Dipping into Lent
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Conversion Is Communion With God
Pope Francis was clear that Lenten and lifelong conversion ‘asks everything of us’. Conversion asks for a change of mind, heart and even body, perhaps even to the extent of losing our lives. However, Pope Francis was equally clear that conversion will not cost happiness, will not cheat us of human fulfilment. Happiness hinges on holiness. True human happiness needs the healing and hope that holiness holds out; holiness helps us become fully human. Offering everything is not one option among others, but an opening of our minds, hearts, and bodies to truth, love, and wholeness. The goal of conversion is communion with God and others. Repentance is turning towards holiness, returning to receive ‘the happiness for which we were created’. Holiness is the hallmark of authentic happiness.
Kevin O’Gorman, Journeying in Joy and Gladness: Lent and Holy Week with Gaudete et Exsultate.
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Infinitely Loved
The Good Shepherd invites us to rest awhile among the grassy meadows and flowing streams. He wants us to relax in his presence – to be nourished, strengthened and renewed. In this place, we may turn from a closed fist of denial, frustration and turmoil to an open hand of acceptance, relaxation and serenity. After the rest, we may be invited to walk more closely with him, to be freer, more confident, and better able to navigate the often-hazy paths of our lives. We can learn so much from modern and contemplative wisdom to live life with great richness, and when all is said and done, we can rejoice that we are infinitely loved.
Too many of us learn to ‘love’ distress and anxiety: we say it is the way of work and the world. Just five minutes of silence seems pointless. But we get in touch with the ‘inner teacher’ when we find time to be still in our day, connecting us with deep peace and balance. It is available to be tapped into as we live in the moment: talking to people, working on tasks, walking with a fresh breeze on our faces, even running.
Gavin T. Murphy, Bursting Out in Praise: Spirituality & Mental Health
Hope Is A Gift of God
Our hope comes from the fact that Jesus is alive, is with us and is on our side. The angel said, ‘Do not look for him among the dead.’ Hope doesn’t come from within ourselves. It is a gift of God, to be prayed for and to be welcomed with thanks. Hope is being able to ‘hum in the darkness’ and know we are not lost. It is to dig the garden, sure that next year’s plants will grow. It is to look at our children and enjoy the future that stretches out before them like a gift from God. It is to be sure that love can grow in marriage and that life can go on and develop in our hearts even if love fades. It is the hope shared by the people who care tirelessly for loved ones, for the people who don’t give up on the son or daughter in prison. We can think of many more hopes in life.
Our hope is sure because of Jesus. We are of sure hope because he was raised from death, and because he is with us all days. We are of sure hope because of the gift of faith within us, and we can joyfully say, ‘Happy are we who have not seen but yet believe.’ The smile of the ascending Lord Jesus can bring a smile to our face.
Donal Neary SJ, The Sacred Heart Messenger, May 2024